USA: The Islamic Republic Must Be Held Accountable for Non-Cooperation with the Agency

The spokesperson for the U.S. State Department announced that Washington, in full coordination with its European partners, supports efforts to hold Iran accountable for its lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Matthew Miller, on Tuesday at a press conference in response to a question from a reporter from the Persian section of Voice of America regarding recent IAEA reports and the efforts of three European countries to reprimand the Islamic Republic for its non-cooperation with this UN oversight body, stated: "Before the IAEA Board of Governors meeting, we are fully coordinated with our partners in Europe and strongly support all efforts to hold the Iranian government accountable." Miller added: "I do not intend to predict actions that we may take in the coming days in consultation with our partners, but I emphasize that we will be fully coordinated with them." He also stressed that Washington will continue to work with members of the IAEA Board to ensure Iran's full cooperation with this agency, so that the agency can ensure that Iran's nuclear program remains exclusively peaceful. According to a confidential IAEA report submitted to the Board of Governors, which some media have accessed, the Iranian government has once again increased its enriched uranium reserves to levels close to 'weapons-grade'. This report indicates that as of October 26 of this year, the Iranian government possessed 182.3 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity, which is an increase of 17.6 kilograms compared to August. Uranium enriched to 60% purity is only a short technical step away from the 90% weapons-grade level. According to Western diplomatic sources, Britain, France, and Germany, with U.S. support, intend to issue a reprimanding resolution against the Islamic Republic at this week's Board of Governors meeting. The aim of this action is to elicit cooperation from the Iranian government to address the agency's concerns regarding its nuclear activities. The U.S. State Department spokesperson stated: "The Iranian regime continues to accumulate highly enriched uranium reserves, which have no credible civilian purpose. They are also refusing to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency." Miller concluded by emphasizing: "As President [Joe Biden] has explicitly stated, the United States will ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon."